Alright, I admit it—I’m really excited about ABC’s Not Dead Yet premiering tonight, Feb 8.

I wasn’t able to secure a screener, so I haven’t watched it yet—this is not an official review.

The network is putting a lot of faith in the series, hoping to hook audiences with two back-to-back episodes of the new Gina Rodriguez-led comedy that toes the line between reality and the afterlife. 

The most obvious reason for my excitement? I’m a huge Gina Rodriguez fan, and while she’s starred in plenty of movies as of late, this marks her official return to the small screen as a leading lady since Jane the Virgin. And we all know that too many people snoozed on JTV. 

Not Dead Yet also promises to add to ABC’s impressive comedy slate—with hits like Abbott Elementary, Home Economics, The Conners, and The Goldbergs—the network knows what it’s doing, so I don’t think they’d add the sitcom unless they were confident it was going to be a bonafide hit. It’s also getting an Abbott Elementary lead, hoping to hook all those fans to stick around for a bit longer. 

The premise of a woman seeing dead people isn’t exactly new—see: Ghosts—but it is a successful one, nonetheless, and provides plenty of opportunity for witty, wacky, emotional, and unique storytelling, while also remaining grounded through a relatable protagonist that’s dealing with worldly issues like breakups and trying to solidify a career in journalism. 

Ghosts’ success bodes well for Not Dead Yet, but the shows also have another thing going for them/in common—The CW. Much like Rose McIver, Rodriguez comes from a series with a quirky premise and has the subtle comedy acting chops to sell it. We believed her when she was a pregnant virgin, so you’re damn right I’ll believe her when she claims to be talking to dead people. She can sell drama, she can sell comedy, she can sell dramedy. I’m in. 

The current TV landscape is perfectly positioned for Not Dead Yet to become a bonafide hit that sweeps the awards circuit next fall. And even if it doesn’t, all it needs to do is make you laugh like no one’s watching. 

Here’s the official Not Dead Yet synopsis:

Hulu’s new action-thriller, Prey, a prequel to Predator, has been deemed a breakout hit.

The film starring Roswell, New Mexico’s Amber Midthunder as Naru is set in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, centuries prior to the 1987 original film. 

Naru is a fierce warrior who “has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains.”

When danger lurks nearby, she aims to protect her people from the prey that ends up being an evolved alien predator.

People have loved the film so much, that according to Variety, it’s Hulu’s most viewed project — among TV and movies — logging the most viewing hours ever in the first three days.

Disney opted to forgo a theatrical release, choosing a streaming release on August 5, but based on the reviews and comments from fans, they may want to rethink that strategy. Turns out, plenty of viewers would pay to watch it on the big-screen again… it was that good!

Here’s what the internet is saying about it:

Me going door to door making sure everyone is watching #PreyMovie:

"Have you heard the tale of Naru and Sarii?" pic.twitter.com/MMdrNqz7BV

— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) August 10, 2022

https://twitter.com/bloodybluntspod/status/1555746536318832640?s=20&t=I8Q6M2O5PACyPujOLqcY8A

Every Predator fan when Taabe said "If it bleeds, we can kill it" #PreyMovie #PreyHulu pic.twitter.com/Bgmps0SJZ5

— Shem. (@shemjay93) August 5, 2022

Easily the best Predator movie. PREY deserves to be seen on the big screen. Crazy to think it’s a Hulu exclusive. That was phenomenal. Blows all the other movies in the franchise out of the water! #PreyMovie pic.twitter.com/qO1AGDmUiz

— Block A ⏳ (@conquercomics) August 6, 2022

https://twitter.com/nightwaynes/status/1555756197755641856?s=20&t=I8Q6M2O5PACyPujOLqcY8A

Facebook undefeated #PreyMovie pic.twitter.com/aNyd5a3GFK

— tipicreepin'humor (@tpcreepinhumor) August 9, 2022

Me and the homies, getting ready for the #PreyMovie pic.twitter.com/rdxYPumMnC

— WaitingforRetooledPredalien (@Mantisabbey) August 4, 2022

Seeing a lotta—much deserved—praise being heaped upon the very good boy in #PreyMovie and think it’s important to point out even this aspect was culturally/historically accurate. The Carolina Dog breed were among the most common found among tribes of the Great Plains. pic.twitter.com/7xq1xGNGfm

— Jordan Maison (@JordanMaison) August 7, 2022

The worst part about #PreyMovie is that it's not playing in theatres, awesome movie

— Matthew (@Matthew_Coyte) August 10, 2022

One the BEST things about #PreyMovie was that the lead female character didn’t have a love interest. That’s right, folks. She didn’t even have a crush. No extraneous love interest just because she’s a woman and has no bearing on the plot. God, I love that movie. pic.twitter.com/fJmt0jx91F

— Reeves (@singfromthehair) August 10, 2022

Prey half in … wow … from the historical standpoint only it’s incredible and the lead actress is soooooooooooo amazing! #Predator #prey #PreyMovie https://t.co/MBDUhbsVvI

— Nicole Russin-McFarland (@nicrussin) August 10, 2022

Really really enjoyed #PreyMovie , completely different outlook on the predator franchise. Thought it was class pic.twitter.com/xacORj7GuJ

— Shane Nolan (@iamshanenolan) August 10, 2022

https://twitter.com/DDNumeroUno/status/1555381320003358725?s=20&t=I8Q6M2O5PACyPujOLqcY8A

HORROR STAYS WINNING. Congrats to the whole #PreyMovie team. Incredible news. Always a cool thing when fans and critics alike are loving a movie, and it's the cherry on top when it's performing well too! https://t.co/sYkGnqgRM2

— John Squires (@FreddyInSpace) August 9, 2022

I've seen #Prey three times, seriously as a Predator fan, as a fan of filmmaking, & just great action thrillers, I seriously can't wait for people to see it. It's such a fun movie.#PreyMovie #Predator

— Greg Alba (@TheGregAlba) August 3, 2022

Oh, Oliver Putnam did not read the room on Only Murders in the Building Season 2 Episode 5. 

Murder mystery party games are my jam, but there’s a line that you simply cannot cross—accusing a party attendee of actual murder. 

This season’s mystery seems to be getting the best of our trio. We’re five episodes deep, and yet, they’ve somehow gotten away from any actual theories. It’s almost as if they never solved a mystery before in their lives. Are they simply too close to it this time? Closer than Charles dating the murderer?

Even their podcast groupies are onto the fact that they have a whole bunch of nothing after all this time investigating. 

And their work has gotten sloppy—they’re talking through theories out in the open for everyone to hear at what is possible a place the murderer frequents. They are being carless with facts. And they are openly revealing that they have absolutely no suspect in the whodunit by accusing Alice at the party. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s not one bone in my body that trusts Alice. I always thought she was an opportunist for pursuing Mabel, and after she basically admitted to being a poor man’s Anna Delvey in order to make a name for herself in the art world, I’m even more convinced of it. She knew that associating with Mabel would bring a lot of attention to herself and the gallery. There’s no doubt about her motives, though, it’s possible that at some point along the way, she actually fell in love. 

However, I’m with Oliver on the whole “you have a tell” thing. When confronted, Alice came clean about her fake identity, which made everyone, particularly Mabel, sympathetic to her cause. Of course, no one would suspect her of murder if she was just outed for being a fraud. But anyone who can blatantly lie to people like that about their upbringing is a master storyteller that can weave exceptional tales and, also, likely cover up murder. 

By making herself Oliver’s target, she has gained Mabel’s trust and created a rift, a fracture in the ecosystem of our amateur detectives. 

I’m hoping that they don’t count her out entirely because there was definitely something off about Alice from the moment we met her. And while I don’t ever want to agree with the lunatic Jan on anything, she does have a point about an artist staying close to her work.

With the heat off of Alice, she can now move in the shadows, and by gaining Mabel’s trust, she can always stay one step ahead of them because she’ll know what the plan is. It’s exactly why Jan remained so close to the case; she could steer it in the direction she wanted. 

On the other hand, it’s a bit too on the nose to have the killer be a romantic partner once again. It’s almost too predictable at this point. 

Admittedly, I’m truly disappointed with Charles for continuing to communicate with Jan. I understand that he’s lost and lonely, and no one has ever understood him the way Jan did—they had a genuine connection, aside from all the murder business— but there’s just no overlooking the crime she committed.

It would be one thing to talk to her for insight, but he’s falling into old patterns, which is a slippery slope.

Jan provides them with a look inside the mind of a killer, but this killer is intentionally framing them and they don’t seem to be the least bit interested into the why.

This season has provided backstories for both Charles and Oliver, so it’s fair to say that all these pieces likely fit into the overall puzzle. But for now, it’s unclear who.

Oliver’s backstory focused more on his ability to sniff out when someone is lying, and a lot of that had to do with his son Will.

It’s been nice to see the two of them patching things up and establishing a relationship, especially since they were so close when Will was younger, but it also underscored that the rockin’ ’70s party host had a bit of a blind spot when it came to the people he loved. 

While helping his son with a family tree project at school, Will did a DNA test and realized that half of his DNA was Greek and not Irish as he was led to believe.

When he confronted his father, Oliver put two and two together and realized that his wife had an affair with Teddy Dimas. And thus, Will was never Oliver’s son, he was the son of Oliver’s archnemesis. 

This gives a whole new meaning to Teddy’s “I’m going to f**** you, Oliver” threat from a few episodes prior!  Teddy has been messing with Oliver for years, but this is the biggest blow. 

How is it going to shape the story moving forward? And how does it fit into the murder mystery loosely holding the season together?

Teddy has plenty of reasons for wanting to frame Oliver, but I don’t think he’d do it by faking that the murder weapon was Mabel’s knitting needle. The paternity doesn’t seem to play any part in Bunny’s murder unless Bunny figured it out and threatened to expose the truth. If that’s the case, it’s possible that even Will’s mother and Oliver’s ex could be the killer!

Amid all the chaos, Mabel stumbled upon a clue while exploring the secret passageways (not so secret anymore), and the matchbook led them to a diner that Bunny frequented. Oliver befriended the waiter, Ivan, who pulled up the surveillance footage from a few days prior to her death. Unfortunately, it’s hard to figure out who the hooded figure might be, even if they do seemingly have a DNA blood sample on the matchbook. 

Is the killer connected to Oliver’s past? Charles’s past? Is Alice somehow involved? After all, she was the son of Sam and kept it a secret.

We’re digging deep into the relationships of Mabel, Oliver, and Charles to shape them as characters, and it turns out, they have a lot of deeply rooted isuses that could be exploited by anyone with nefarious intentions or a grudge. Could they all have a darkr side that we’ve never seen? Or are they the perfect victims to turn into suspects?

Are they too preoccupied with their own drama to give this case the attention it deserves?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!